Cuba - Lonely Planet [346]
The legacy of Cuba’s pioneering coffee industry is best evidenced in the Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the Southeast of Cuba, a Unesco World Heritage Site dedicated in 2000 that sits in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra close to La Gran Piedra (opposite).
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Sights & Activities
Near the beginning of the access road to La Gran Piedra, 16km southeast of Santiago de Cuba, is the Prado de las Esculturas (admission CUC$1; 8am-4pm). Strewn along a 1km loop road, here are 20 monumental sculptures of metal, wood, concrete, brick and stone by the artists of 10 countries. It’s the first of this region’s numerous artistic oddities.
The steep, 12km road up the mountain range itself is beautiful, as the trees close in and the valley opens up below. Mango trees are ubiquitous here. One kilometer before Villa La Gran Piedra and 800m down a muddy road is the Jardín Botánico (admission CUC$3; 8am-4:30pm Tue-Sun), with orchids (best November to January) and other flowers. Look for the showy yellow, orange and violet ave de paraíso (bird of paradise).
You don’t need to be Tenzing Norgay to climb the 459 stone steps to the summit of La Gran Piedra (admission CUC$1) at 1234m. The huge rock on top measures 51m in length and 25m in height and weighs…a lot. On a clear day there are excellent views out across the Caribbean and on a dark night you are supposedly able to see the lights of Jamaica.
Cafetal La Isabelica (admission CUC$2; 8am-4pm) is part of the Unesco World Heritage Site bestowed in 2000 upon the First Coffee Plantations in the Southeast of Cuba. Two kilometers beyond La Gran Piedra on a rough road, there’s a museum describing the coffee-processing technology of a century ago. The impressive two-story stone mansion, with its three large coffee-drying platforms, was built in the early 19th century by French émigrés from Haiti and was once one of more than 60 in the area. There’s a workshop, furniture and some slave artifacts, and you can stroll around the pine-covered plantation grounds at will.
Sleeping & Eating
Villa La Gran Piedra (Islazul; 65-12-05; s/d CUC$34/42; ) It might not be the biggest or the best, but Villa La Gran Piedra has at least one claim to fame – it is the highest hotel in Cuba. Situated at 1225m, near the mountain’s summit, there are 17 cabins and five bungalows here with red-tiled roofs and local stone walls. Rooms are basic but perfectly adequate and the verdant setting surrounded by ferns, orchids and wondrous vistas makes up for a lot. There’s an on-site restaurant and various short hiking trips are available.
Getting There & Away
A steep, winding paved road climbs 12km up the mountain’s spine. It’s not always possible to visit by public transport, as the bus arrives only once a week. A taxi from Santiago de Cuba will cost approximately CUC$40 for the round trip.
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PARQUE BACONAO
Parque Baconao, covering 800 sq km between Santiago de Cuba and the Río Baconao, is as wondrous as it is weird. A Unesco Biosphere Reserve that is also home to an outdoor car museum, a run-down aquarium and a rather odd collection of 240 life-size dinosaur sculptures, it looks like a historically displaced Jurassic Park, yet in reality acts as an important haven for a whole ecosystem of flora and fauna.
Not surprisingly, the Unesco tag wasn’t earned for a museum full of old cars (or for a field full of concrete dinosaurs, for that matter). According to biological experts, Baconao boasts more than 1800 endemic species of flora and numerous types of endangered bats and spiders. Encased in a shallow chasm with the imposing Sierra Maestra on one side and the placid Caribbean on the other, the biodiversity of the area (which includes everything from craning royal palms to prickly cliffside cacti) is nothing short of remarkable.
The beaches are smaller here than those on the northern coast and not quite as white, but the fishing is good and there are 73 scuba-diving sites to choose from nearby, including